Night of the Living Dicks Review
Night of the Living Dicks is a 2021 short film written and directed by Ilja Rautsi.
With a taste for the over the top and some biting satire Night of the Living Dicks delivers with some great visuals and even better effects work to deliver a gloriously gross out yet funny good time.
Opening on a conversation between a serial dick pic sender and the woman who has to endure such torture, the stage is set for some great social commentary that only gets better as the piece progresses forward.
In a move that is reminiscent of The Live mashed together with Night of the Living Dead, our protagonist accidentally comes across a pair of glasses that reveal the true identity of those scummy guys we have all either seen or known.
From there, things only spiral more out of control and become more of a delight. If you aren’t a fan of gross out practical effects, this might not be the viewing experience for you, but it is always a treat to see things special effects work that plays out on camera.
The over the top black and white cinematography from Kerttu Hakkarainen fits the tone beautifully. Bringing together that classic neo noir styling to every moment of the short. Only one moment of overexposure caught the eye here, but that can sometimes be par for the course of this style.
The acting is wonderfully over the top when it needs to be and sells the nightmarish setting perfectly. It never falters in that regard and the lead work from Tanja Heinanen is of particular note.
As mentioned above, the effects work of the film deserves a special nod. It is wonderfully grotesque and so well executed. There doesn’t seem to be a better way to visually show what an actual dick head would look like.
By the end Night of the Living Dicks provides a great bit of social commentary in the way we look at gender norms and it is quite wonderful to see this turn. The ending for a film like this could have gone in plenty of directions and this feels like the perfect one for it. If you love a good mix of comedy and horror, then this will be a treat for you.
This film was screened as part of the 2021 Fantasia Film Festival.
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Cheers!
Daniel Hess
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